Menstrual Hygiene Management: A Review of the Evidence

Fifty-one percent of the female population is of reproductive age, meaning that at least 1.8 billion women and girls around the world are in need of information, products, and private facilities to manage their monthly periods. To date there is no global estimate of the percentage of women and girls who lack the resources needed to manage their periods, but evidence from small-scale research studies suggests that many women and girls in developing countries struggle to access adequate information, products, and disposal systems. Silence and stigma around the topic of menstruation, paired with women’s limited participation in policymaking, makes programs to support menstrual hygiene management (MHM) a low priority – but MHM can boost the health, comfort, and dignity of women and girls and support them to become active participants in society.

This review discusses the range of menstrual hygiene products, strategies for delivering MHM interventions, and the benefits of appropriate MHM for young women and their communities.